idaband

Anyone have advice when buying cross country?? how do you know your getting a good working ...non lemon?

How do you know if someone raised the heck out of it?

should I stay away from 2005's?

z06Bigbird

Don't!!! Unless, perhaps, the dealer is a respected Vette dealership that works closely with this forum. i.e., Fitchner (Montana), Black Cad/Chevy (Ebensburg, PA), etc. Look for a family-owned dealership that has developed a great reputation. Ask competing dealers in that particular town (Ford, Toyota, etc) the same info about Chevy dealers. Perhaps the question is: If you were going to buy a vette, which dealership do you prefer???? Service mgr and parts managers hear a lot of rumors/facts about their competition.

SolidlyStated

carchex.com inspection

idaband

woops....meant to type raced.....small keyboard....too late at night...

buying out of state might be the only way to find color / price that works for me...

your saying only buy from dealers?? i was thinking going private seller....cheaper that way.....

I heard there was companies that might do inspections for you??

Vette5.5

I'd keep all possibilities in mind. As mentioned you can probably pay a fellow area forum member a few bucks to check it out, and have a dealer inspection done. Tricky thing is the monies and title, as always some risk there in any deal. I bought my Vette brand new from an out of state dealer, wired the money and all turned out well.

1FASTVERT

I just bought a 2005 vert from out of state and had no problems. I had take it to a chevy dealership to check out the car. The car was bought off of ebay and had no issues except the car was lowered to much. Had a great time driving it back home.

LMB-Z

Tell us where you are and where the car is and maybe someone is close by and will go look at it for you.


As far as staying away from an 05, why? If it's what you are looking for, good price, no problems, I say go for it.

JoesC5

Difficult to know if a car has been raced. I've seen guys race but will tape up their car to prevent rock nicks, etc. They raced but took care of their car.
I don't see that buying a car from a dealer is any safer the buying one from an individual. Any used car on a dealer's lot most likely came from an individual and the dealers' I've seen either don't know, don't care, or won't admit that they know anything about the cars history. A car on a dealers lot could have been through several dealer's auctions.

If I'm buying from an individual, or even a dealer, then I don't want the car detailed, just your normal wash job. I want to see it just as it's been for the past year or two of it's life. That's the only way you can really tell the condition. A pro detailer can make an abused car look great.

What ever you decide, spend the extra cash to inspect the car in person. Never take anyone's word on the condition. If it's as great as the seller says, you did good. You can drive it home with a huge smile on your face. If it's a POS, then walk away and write up the expense of going to see the car as an expense to try and find the right car. Don't buy a car that doesn't meet your expectations, just because you have spent some money to travel to check it out.

Even if you can get a local person(like from this forum) to do a preliminary inspection, still look at it yourself. Having someone else look at it will help you weed out the crap, so you don't make an unnecessary trip.

trailboss

I live in Oregon and have purchased cars from SC, IL, KY and NY from dealers and private parties. I only got screwed by a private party and the Chevy dealer in Rockford, IL who charged me for an inspection, reported the car pristine, and when it unloaded off the trailer it was obvious the rear end was painted a different color than the rest of the car. It got ugly and I ended up eating a couple thousand to fix it right instead of suing. It turned out to be a great car in every other way.

I learned a very important lesson which I've used ever since - SEE THE CAR IN PERSON. Give them the smallest holding payment possible and get them to give you a receipt. Go to the car, get it checked by another dealer or service shop where you can also see it on a rack, and make sure you drive it. If a CF member can check to make sure it's a real deal great, but you have to do the final check before buying. If they won't be totally cooperative find another car.

I've had some great trips driving back home.

dgrant3830

Do not buy a car without seeing it in person unless you're buying a brand new car from a respectable dealer.

jaki30

I have my 3rd C6. All 3 were bought out of state. The latest was a month ago out of White Plains, NY.
Minimal money to hold the car. Have car inspected by local Chevy dealership, run VIS, check Carfax (don't rely too much on them) for history of where it has been and how many owners. Then inspect car when you get to pick it up.

AORoads

I would agree with almost all of the above except for one caveat: depending on the year and mileage of the car, at least GM dealers may offer a certified pre-owned warranty with the car. This is a higher standard than buying off someone else's lot, or from a private individual and may offer a bit more protection (and recourse) in the event something goes wrong with the car within the time period of the warranty.

FrankTank

I bought my Z06 from a forum member here, but still did the above. Car was in New Orleans, we met in Atlanta I had the car checked out, and also looked at it myself. Everything checked out fine and I drove it 800 miles home.

Buying a used car is a risk regardless if it's from a dealer or private-party. I have seen dealers be just as deceitful as someone off the street could be... look how many horror dealer stories we read about here

Bill Dearborn

The odds of getting a car that has been drag raced or driven in HPDEs (these are not races) are fairly small. The vast majority of Corvettes are babied to the extent that they aren't even driven. You probably have a 5% chance of getting one that has been used like it was meant to be used. At the opposite end of the spectrum you will find 4 year old cars with less than a 1000 miles on them. Those ones should be avoided unless the price is sufficiently low to make up for buying a new car without a warranty. Owners of these cars think they should be worth lots more but the cars have actually been abused due to lack of driving. GM built them to be driven not stored.

Bill

P0234

IMO its pretty easy to tell if a car has been driven hard or not. Tire and brake pad replacements are a dead giveaway, if the owner has service records. If they don't, find another car. Next get a PPI inspection done by an outfit like SGS or Carchex. If that comes out clean, send it to the dealership for a mechanical inspection. Getting a compression/leakdown check is also smart.

Most of the time people will either go to great lengths to show you the car's history and how they've cared for it, or they will just dodge question. A 15-20 minute phone call will get you a good general feel about the car if you ask the right questions. Then its on to getting the inspections done.

While having a forum member look at a car is great, opinions vary. What looks good to someone will look like crap to someone else. Professional services use a quantitative approach to car condition, noting exceptions from a perfect car of that age.

idaband

The other question is the money aspect...

I was talking with a credit union and they will not finace out of state titles..... so you could refinance if you wanted...

in fact I was told that most banks won't finance if they don't have an branch in that state.

This adds a slight confusion to the mix...

Easy Rhino

^This^

(and I would qualify what is meant by "a respectable dealer" in the case of a used car - and maybe even a new car, that's how I feel about unknown dealers).

artz66

There probably thinking you live out of state. Like live in florida and want finance the car in Georgia. Once you get the title its transgress to you and the state you live ie no longer an out of state title

brooklync5

I live in NY and bought my 1st vette ( c5 with 22k) in NC. Now on my second (06 coupe) from Ohio. In both cases i spoke with the owners asked for the most detailed pics possible did my research via gm service dept's and carfax and in both cases ended up with mint flawless vehicles. All I can really say is do as much research on the vehicle as possible. Have no shame ask as many questions as you can think of.

Daekwan06

I gotta disagree with a few things posted already. Dating back to 2004, the last 6 vehicles (3 cars, 1 SUV, 2 sportbikes) I've purchased have all been internet found, out of state, sight unseen, financed thru 2 different banks & a credit union and I've NEVER had an issue. It seems like many of posts so far are from people who are overly cautious and/or have little to no experience buying out of state. Vette owners are known for being perfectionists about their vehicles, so its no real surprise reading some of the comments. If it werent from my own personal experience, reading this thread I would think buying out of state is the craziest thing in the world to do.

1) Most credit unions & banks have no problem with you buying out of state. In fact this is the first I've ever heard one having an issue with it. Granted I've used Federal credit unions (Navy & Pentagon) but its never been a problem. I've also financed out of state purchases thru Bank of America and Wells Fargo. Again, all they care about is you being approved for the loan, you repaying the loan on time, and them holding a lien on the title of the vehicle until the loan is fulfilled. Out of state vs In state didnt matter.

2) I completely disagree about buying without seeing. Pictures do not lie and neither do common sense. Its 2011, use your brain and internet to get as much of a visual inspection as possible of the vehicle. Never been afraid to ask for more pictures or higher resolution shots. Make sure to get photos of wear areas, where its hard to mask damage or abuse. Under the vehicle, inside the wheel well, inside the car, inside the engine bay, inside foot rest areas. They are all areas where damage & abuse will show.. in addition to the common items like the paint condition, leather condition, console condition etc. Pictures are worth a 1000's words, and its pretty easy to tell a car that has been dogged or not.

3) Verify as much as you can about the cars history. Again its 2011. Take the VIN number and run carfax, autocheck, dealerships.. whatever you need to make you feel comfortable buying. Its possible one may incorrect or out of date, but not all of them. A clean history check + highly detailed pictures of the entire vehicle are more than enough information to make a well informed decision about whether or not to purchase the vehicle. Of course if you can have someone check it out.. then thats great, but generally speaking any "newer" used vehicle that has never been wrecked.. will start/drive/stop just fine. Its not like the brakes are just gonna fall off because its used. And chances are the person checking it out wont get much more than a few minutes of tire kicking thats not much better off than what you can see in a history check or thru pictures. Even then.. the opinion is thru that person's eyes and not yours. We all know one mans trash is anothers treasure. So in the end.. TRUST YOUR OWN OPINION most.

4) Make sure its worth your time/effort/money to buy out of state. Its not necessarily the easiest or most comfortable way to buy. Especially when you have to ship or drive the vehicle several hundred or thousand miles back home. If you can find what you want closer, and the price is pretty close.. why not look closer. For someone looking for a good price on 2005 and up vettes.. I cant imagine you have search that far away to get a good deal. If anything this is the high season for buying Vettes (summer time) and youd save alot more money waiting until the low season (winter time).

5) Buy a car with a factory warranty. Not 3rd party, not aftermarket, but some type of factory warranty. No matter how great the vehicle looks in pictures or in person, you still dont want to get stuck with surprise repair bills. Its a used car. That means for whatever reason.. the person before you didnt want it any more and now they want to get rid of it. While the car is probably in fine condition, why not look for vehicles that have extra protection just in case shyt happens down the road. My '07 was bought in April this year.. but is covered under the 5yr/100k powertrain until June of 2012. That purchase gave me 18 months of protection and didnt cost me any extra. Someone who bought an '06, wouldnt have gotten the warranty coverage peroid. So specifically with Vettes.. try and shoot for '07's and up. '08s and up are preferred.



Finally I'd like to add my Dad is like many people here. He pretty much doesnt trust anybody, and would never buy a vehicle without seeing it in person. Since he bought his '07 Vette new from the factory, I thought it would be great for him to share in my experience of buying my '07 Vette used.. from a Mercedes dealership that was 1100 miles away. After going thru my personal system of checks, I put a deposit on the vehicle and secured my own financing. Again buying the car unseen. The Benz dealer was able to beat my financing rate, so I went their bank instead (Wells Fargo). Next I signed all the necessary the documents that were mailed to me, mailed them back, the car was technically mine.. I just had to take delivery. After at $1200 quote for one way, enclosed shipping I decided I would drive it back with my dad riding shotgun. Using my airline reward points, I purchased 2 one-way tickets from DC to Kansas City. My dad and I were picked up by the Benz salesman in amazing S600 and taken to the dealership where my car was. The dealer had just completed a full detail (including engine) and filled the tank with gas.. all of which is aboslutely awesome service BTW. I was given both keys to the car, all the original manuals/books/cd and did a final personal inspection before driving off. I also found out the car was female owned/driven by the name on the title and salesman who had helped the seller with her trade in. We then drove 9 hours headed east that day, stayed overnight in a $80 Sheraton in Lexington, KY.. and drove the final 8 east hours back home. Along the way, my Dad & I took a few turns driving. And I filled the tank twice, at $60 a pop, meaning I only spent $200 to get the car home. I could have not been more satisfied with what I bought, what I paid and the entire experience. My dad could have not been more pleasantly surprised with how easy and rewarding the transaction was. He admitted afterwards that now he could "see why someone would buy a car off the internet". He also had phoned his girlfriend during the trip to tell her about the pleasant experience and commented how my '07 was prettier than his..

Long story short.. use your brain, collect as much information as possible to make an educated decision. Dont get over anxious, but also dont get scared.. just trust your own opinion. Get a warranty. You'll be fine and good luck!